harm reduction

Volunteer organisation to promote harm reduction services during winter games

It seems that the traditional healthy image of this year’s winter games is going to be slightly altered by an organisation called Safegames. Their aim is to provide a wide array of resources to help keep the Olympic community safe and protected, including tips on safe sex and practical information on reducing the harms connected with drugs and alcohol. Needless to say initiatives like these are more than welcome for everybody and they constitute an opportunity to give a more real approach towards mass entertainment.

    Vancouver's safe injection site controversy

    Which of these cities has a legal supervised injection site?

      Budapest resigns from ECAD

      The municipal government of Budapest admitted that it has been paying thousands of Euros every year since 1998 as a membership fee for a Stockholm-based prohibitionist organization, the European Cities Against Drugs (ECAD) – reported the Hungarian online newsportal.

        Clean Needles Save Lives: An HCLU film

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        After two decades, the US Congress has voted to lift a ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs in December. This historic decision signals a new area for harm reduction in the United States – our new movie shows why and how needle exchange programs protect communities from the unintended harms caused by drug use and drug policies.

          Anthrax infected heroin cases spread to the continent

          In the wake of seven confirmed deaths and a further 14 infections in Scotland, health authorities in Germany suspect that a 24 year old male has also died due to anthrax poisoning. The man was admitted to hospital on December 6th after injecting himself with heroin and later died of multi-organ failure on December 13th. Although the death was not originally thought to be anthrax related a wound swab taken on December 18th revealed anthrax spores.

            Russia Draft Drug Policy says no to harm reduction

            The Russian State Anti-drug Committee developed and posted on their website a Draft Strategy of the National Anti Drug Policy which makes controversial statements and has important omissions that threaten the future of HIV prevention among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Russia. Among key objectives the strategy indicates  (Section 3.2).

              Lifting the U.S. Ban on Federal Funding for Syringe  

              In a major change to the country's drug policy, the United States Congress has reversed a ban on federal funding of needle exchange that was first enacted 21 years ago. Within days the legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Obama and will allow funding of needle exchange programmes domestically, as well as internationally through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the world's largest single source of HIV/AIDS‐related funding.

                AIDS activists protested in Capitol

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                Last July AIDS activists protested in the Capitol after the Obama Administration did not respect its commitments on lifting the ban on needle exchanges, increasing funding to the AIDS Global Fund and providing support for housing support (HOPWA). After the protest 26 people were arrested for unlawful gathering, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

                  Hooked 1: What is harm reduction

                  I'm pleased to announce that the first episode of our weekly podcast Hooked is now available to download.

                  In this first show Allison and I give an introduction to the show and its aims as well as talk about the principles of the harm reduction approach to drug services. We also talk briefly about blood borne virus and drug related crime. Listen to the show.

                    Ketamine becoming more popular as new drug of choice

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                    Ketamine is associated with a horse tranquiliser and as a painkiller during the Vietnam war. However, its popularity as a recreational drug has been increasing, not only in clubs but also in the home. Although just 0.8% of young people aged 16-24 reported using ketamine during 2006 what it calls the attention to the experts is the rapid growth amongst people involved in the UK dance-scene. In this group the lifetime prevalence is 42% and has been increasing at approximately 50% per year over a five-year period from 1999 to 2003.

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